


After Reunion

by Aki_Aiko



Series: Limbo [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: F/M, Gen, Tags to be added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 01:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17694926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aki_Aiko/pseuds/Aki_Aiko
Summary: Loz and Yazoo are out and living with Cloud in an attempt to integrate them into society after having been deemed no longer a threat to humanity.  But Yazoo keeps hearing his lost brother's voice and starts to plan another reunion.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I found the disc which had all of my old stories that didn't get transferred over from FFN, so am going to go ahead and add them to the pile here. I'm kind of embarrassed at how this ends...I don't know exactly why, but it just sits with me wrong now. So, sorry in advance if you do, too! 
> 
> I've known of FFVII the game, of course, but have never played it myself. But I loved the movie and did research the characters and such before writing, so that I still feel good about. And I'm more partial to the clone theory regarding the trio but this story went its own way.

Midgar. A city which has known many sorrows. 

But sometimes sorrow can be tempered with joy.

This is where our story begins...

+

Yazoo and Cloud entered the garage to find Loz tinkering with a bike. He had been out for eight months now and was staying at Seventh Heaven, helping out with the bar's security and doing mechanical repairs on the bikes. It wasn't the odd visit but an extended stay. He only had to go back once a month for interviews or some such thing.

Yazoo, on the other hand, was getting his first full week out. The doctors said they weren't satisfied enough with his 'progress'. What he was supposed to be progressing to, he didn't know. Was he going somewhere? If so, they had a very poor transportation system because he hadn't even left the city yet.

"Hey," Loz said. He threw down a tool and stood to greet them, but stopped when he saw Yazoo. "Where did you get that outfit?" he asked, fighting back a grin. His brother was wearing blue jeans way too big for him and a T-shirt which read MIDGAR ROCKS.

Yazoo pointed at Cloud.

"Well," the guilty party said. "I should get to the bar. I'm sure there's some...stuff...Tifa needs me to do."

"Like what?" Yazoo asked.

"Stuff...um, y'know, bar things...yeah..." Ignoring Loz's knowing grin (knowing because they both knew Yazoo didn't have a clue about the hideousness of that outfit) he went through the door which led to the bar.

Yazoo came over to study the bike. It was similar to Cloud's, not like the ones they used to have. He ran a hand over the cool metal. His own vehicle had been destroyed, of course, during that explosion in the tunnel. That fight had been...had been...

Well, it had been.

“Does it have a name yet?”

“Jormangand. Cloud named it.”

“Obviously.“ Yazoo smiled-he felt it, this amusement, so faintly. “So the two of you are going to Vigrid, then?” And despite the attempt to keep it aflame, it guttered out.

“I don‘t think so. Where’s that?” Loz asked. 

Yazoo said nothing, merely returned to running a hand over the bike.

"You're not gonna start drooling, are ya?" A new voice said from behind them.

He and Loz moved closer together, near the back of Jormangard, in an instictive gesture of protectiveness. If they were going to fight-to play-then it would be together.

A girl, more Kadaj’s age than their own, stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame and smiling at them, an eyebrow raised. 

Over the years, Yazoo had learned to read his brothers' faces, to remember the expressions they made. Once Kadaj had given the appropriate emotion to associate them with, he could usually figure out how to read the those two on his own. Unfortunately, this didn't work with the seething mass of humanity he was now forced to deal with.

Right now, he would say that Loz was angry. Had the girl said something offensive? Should he be angry as well? Without Kadaj there to tell him, it was hard to decide on how to appropriately deal with her.

The girl, now, she bothered him, this strange-eyed thing. All new people were a puzzle to sort out, but something in her grin, the way it was just a bit too predatory, told Yazoo that something was off. There were some people who hid cruel natures behind their smiles. Yazoo had met many himself. 

“Relax, guys,” she said. “I’m just passing through." She crossed the garage, made her way to the exit, and entered the door to the bar. It closed behind her and Yazoo looked at Loz for answers.

But Loz was staring at the door. “Who’s she...?”

The door opened back up and Tifa stuck her head out. “Hey, you two. Dinner’s ready. Come eat.”

Loz started on ahead, but Yazoo stayed, tilting his head slightly. That voice...Kadaj...

'Brother...'

Loz stopped and called him out of his reverie. 

"You okay?"

"Of course." He followed his older brother.

Inside, the girl sat at the table, enthusiastically eating some strange orange stuff and little bits of colorful vegetables. The children had already eaten and were in bed by now.

“Who is she?” Loz asked.

“And when is she leaving?” Yazoo added.

“This is Yuffie,” Tifa said, gesturing to the girl. “Say hello,” she hissed when Yuffie only waved a fork at them. "She'll be staying a few weeks."

“Mmllo.”

+

After Yazoo had cleaned his plate-more because it was expected of him than out of any real urge to eat-Tifa leaned over and scraped extra onto his plate, more of this...macaroni and cheese...with a murmur of, “You’re so thin, you really should eat more.”

Loz leaned over to add peas and Cloud passed over a bowl of carrots. The phrase ‘mother hens’ popped up in Yazoo’s mind. A very fanciful phrase for such unfanciful behavior.

“I’m not eating that.”

“You did promise,” Cloud said.

“I promised to eat-and I have. I have no desire to eat more.”

Tifa’s expression...hmmm...well, it could have been anger. It was a light tracing of the brows downward, a slight twitch of the lips. “Oh,” she said in a softer tone. What was it...? “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend.”

Cloud stood, breaking the tension. “Maybe we should get you two to bed.” 

Yuffie glared at them and said something unsavory under her breath. Yazoo ignored her. She was like a fly, buzzing around, but easily swatted when in the way.

+

"That wasn't nice."

"Hmm? What wasn't?"

Loz climbed into bed. He and Yazoo shared a room because it wasn't right for them to be separated. Cloud understood The doctors hadn't, which was what caused the biggest problem in the beginning of their imprisonment.

"What you said to Tifa," While Loz wasn't good at figuring out what exactly was going on in Yazoo's head, he could still tell when the line was crossed from cool logic to rudeness; Yazoo just needed help telling the difference, was all. So he explained.

Yazoo got into the other side of the bed and curled up under the covers. He still had pills to help him sleep and he was slowly fading into unconsciousness. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll remember next time."

But there it was again, that voice. Calling to him. It made his chest ache as if he were ill. 

'Come, Brother...we should be together...always together...'


	2. Chapter 2

Yazoo woke up to someone poking him in the shoulder. He opened his eyes. On his side of the bed, the little girl named Marlene smiled at him.

"Good morning," she said. "It's time to get up."

He threw the covers back over his head and burrowed further into the warm blankets, ignoring the feeble tugging as she tried to pull the covers away. He'd never been a 'morning person' and this whole charade played out every time Yazoo visited. They all wanted him up for breakfast. He could care less about breakfast-if he knew how to care at all.

"C'mon," Marlene whined. "Tifa says next time, she's coming up with a bucket of water."

That hadn't worked the first time Tifa did it, so he ignored Marlene and let his consciousness drift, barely taking note of her when she huffed and walked away muttering about telling Cloud.

A stronger grip pulled the blankets completely off him in one quick yank. He glared at Loz, who stood at the foot of the bed grinning. 

+

Normally, Yazoo spent the day helping to clean and get ready for when the bar opened but today started out slightly different. Tifa took him aside and pressed some money into his hand.

"Consider it your wages in advance," Tifa said, when he stared blankly at it. "You're not normally here long enough but now you'll have some time. Go buy something for yourself."

"Thank you-and Tifa. I apologize."

"What for?"

"For yesterday. Loz says that what I said to you was wrong."

One of those unfathomable expressions crossed her face again and she waved a hand through the air. "Oh, no. It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Why would he worry about it? He really shouldn't be discussing these things with Loz, anyway. It never made sense. With a mental shrug, he went off to do his own shopping. Later, he returned with a small bag. Inside were his old clothes, the ones Cloud had picked out. He was now dressed all in black, as suited him best: black leather pants, a black turtleneck sweater, the neck itself pulled up to just under his chin, and black boots. He'd also managed to get a new gun, courtesy of simply the allure he possessed. It wasn't the same as the Velvet Nightmare but the Crimson Cascade was still a formidable weapon.

He side-stepped some kids running through the fairly empty bar and went to drop his things off in his and Loz's room.

"Hey!" Tifa called to him. "Loz is out in the garage with the bikes if you need him."

Of course he did. He always needed his brothers. He shook his head slightly at the murmuring that thought produced, that alien yet familiar voice, always asking for the same thing. For the brothers' reunion.

Loz was crouched by his bike, doing some...mechanical thing...which involved a lot of twisting of a little tool but he listened carefully as Yazoo told him about hearing Kadaj in his head-and about how they needed to bring him back.

"Can we do that?" Loz asked. The last time had involved hurting people and he didn't want to do that anymore-nor did he want Yazoo to.

"I don't know," Yazoo murmured, staring vacantly off. He'd been mulling the problem over for a while now and still wasn't sure what to do. So at the moment, he thought about it. A lot.

Later on, as the workers of the city finished up at their jobs, Yazoo patiently wiped down tables and brought people their drinks, balancing them all on a large tray. He had to wait for the right time, when it was still busy and noisy but when no one would realize that he wasn't doing his job-what Tifa had paid him for, really, but family came first in these situations. He needed information and there was only one person he knew to ask.

"Let me speak to the president." 

He was using the payphone that was in a corner of the room, constantly shifting around so that no one could get a good look at him while he was talking. The loudness of the bar could not protect him from all eavesdroppers. Yazoo himself was an excellent lip-reader and it would be foolish to think he was the only one. Especially with that Yuffie nearby.

"I'm sorry," said a high-pitched female voice. She didn't sound apologetic. "Mr. Shinra is in a meeting right-"

"Tell him Yazoo is calling. He'll know who I am."

"Please hold."

He held the phone slightly away from his ear as music came over the line. After listening to some inane song, another voice came on the line.

"Shinra speaking. This is Yazoo?"

"Yes. You have some information that I need, Mr. President."

"Right to the point, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Why would I possibly help you? You tortured my people and tried to bring back Jenova. Kadaj-"

"Kadaj died. And Mother lied." He paused. "I have no one else to ask."

"...what do you want?"

"Simply all files pertaining to me and my brothers. I ask nothing else. There are no strings, no conditions, no hidden motives involved." 

"Very well. I'll have some of my people come pick you up tomorrow around nine. Is that acceptable to you?"

"Yes-and Mr. President? I want all the files. Dig up every classified file you have."

"Right." Shinra hung up. 

Frowning,Yazoo turned, his hand still lightly touching the receiver.

"What's up?" Yuffie chirped. She was standing directly in front of him, smiling brightly.

"What do you want, little spy?"

"What did you just call me?!"

"Little. Spy. Am I wrong?"

"You-" Wasting no more words, she used her best defense. Meaning she kicked him between the legs. He bent slightly at the waist. And then smirked.

"Oh, shit..."

She had to give to him. He was tough. And quick. As she was moving in for her next move, he sent the telephone's receiver flying and in the space of mere seconds, it had circled around her head and the cord wrapped itself around her neck. Yazoo pulled it tight, cutting off her air supply.

All eyes were on them as Tifa jumped between opponents. "That's enough! Yazoo, let Yuffie go." Yazoo let go of the receiver, leaving Yuffie to untangle herself. She coughed and rubbed at her sore neck, glaring at him.

"I'm disappointed in both of you," Tifa said, in mom mode, the tone she normally reserved for her young charges. "Both of you go to your rooms and cool off."

"But-"

"Now."

Yuffie flounced off. Yazoo had already started for his own room and Tifa eyed him worriedly. She'd never had these problems with Loz, who had been eager to fit in, to make a new life for himself. She wondered if Yazoo could ever find it in him to try, too.

She picked the receiver up off the floor. Who had he been calling, anyway?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I don't find the official explanation of the trio very satisfying (which is why I'm so partial to the clone theory), but I thought it would be interesting to explore.

For once, Yazoo was up early without any persuasion needed. He earned some odd glances but ignored them and sat at the bar, waiting. At the appointed time, a black car pulled up and two men stepped out. Yazoo recognized them immediately: they were the two he and Loz had fought at the statue. He watched warily as they entered the bar and waited for him silently. Both were armed and neither wore happy expressions. It was clear to Yazoo that they were...wait a minute...let's see...oh!...unhappy.

"What's going on?"

Tifa rounded the bar as Yazoo stood to leave. She planted herself protectively in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing? You think you can just carry people off?"

"Tifa-"

"Cloud! Shinra's sent some of his goons!"

"Hey!" Reno protested at the term 'goon'. He was a Turk, for crying out loud. She could at least have the decency to call him a 'thug'. 

Cloud appeared, oversized sword resting against his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"We've come to get this guy." Rude said. "Boss's orders."

Cloud opened his mouth to speak but Yazoo beat him to it.

"It's okay." It was ironic, really, Cloud trying to protect him. "I asked to see him."

"Is that who you were talking to last night? Shinra?" Tifa asked.

Yazoo nodded.

"But-"

"Are we goin' or what? Time's wastin' here, folks." 

Yazoo moved swiftly around his self-proclaimed guardians and out the door, the two Turks turning to follow.

"If anything happens to him," Cloud said, "I'm holding you two responsible. Personally responsible." Behind him, Tifa folded her arms and nodded.

"You worry too much," Reno said with a grin. He and Rude left.

As the door swung shut, Loz came down the stairs. He paused when he saw Cloud and Tifa. "Um...have you guys seen Yazoo?"

+

The car ride over was relatively short. It was odd how all the other cars seemed to recognize this particular one as a Shinra vehicle and moved quickly out of the way. Shinra controlled traffic? He really did have power over the city.

The Shinra building was tall, consisting of many floors. Inside, the Shinra employees stopped talking as Yazoo-with his two escorts-passed on the way to the elevator. As the doors began to close, a woman called out.

"Stop! Wait! Hold the elevator."

Instinctively, Yazoo thrust an arm between the doors. The woman neared and Yazoo recognized her. She had made such nice screams before. She stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open-fear, Yazoo thought. He smirked at her and let the doors close on her shocked face. He was escorted into Shinra's office by the two Turks. They'd been very tense since his encounter with the girl at the elevator but did nothing to suggest they might attack him any time soon.

Shinra himself sat behind the desk, hands clasped in front of him, his chin resting on his hands. Yazoo eyed him warily and sat in the only chair in front of the desk.

"So...you made it."

"Obviously." Yazoo refrained from using a phrase Kadaj used to use, 'Duh.'

"Did it take you long?"

"Mr. President-we have business. No more of this 'small talk'."

Shinra waved a hand at Rude and Reno and they left obediently but gave Yazoo dual glares before leaving. He didn't mind. In fact, he could understand. Loyalty to their boss. He would be just as wary of enemies-or even former enemies-around his brothers.

The president reached into a drawer and pulled out a thick file, dropping it on the desk in front of him. It made a thunk! sound as it landed. "This is it. All the information about you, Loz, and Kadaj, everything gathered right here in this folder."

Yazoo held out a hand for it but Shinra laid his own on top of it.

"What is it you want?" he asked. He was pretty sure Shinra gave nothing away for free.

There was another moment of silence while Shinra stared at him. Finally, he said, "Like you, I want information."

"I know nothing about Jenova."

"Not that. I've been wondering-just what do you think you know about yourselves?"

"The three of us were raised like cattle, held in a lab-by your company, Mr. President-by Shinra. Your doctors severed me from any emotions I might have had and made Kadaj crazy."

"Is that what you think?"

Yazoo narrowed his eyes at the man but said nothing.

Shinra pushed the file towards Yazoo with one hand. "Here. Take it. There's nothing here I need anymore."

Yazoo leaned forward and lifted it off the desk, running a hand over the cover. This was it. All the information he'd ever wanted right at his fingertips.

+

Back in his and Loz's room, Yazoo tried to make sense of the information in front of him.

They said he wasn't real, wasn't even a clone, but a 'body of thought.' Shinentai. But...they were real. All three of them were real...weren't they? He ran a hand across his forehead, to where faint scars were visible at the hairline. They had cut him open, this was the proof.

He grabbed the folder and flipped through pages and pages of useless notes until he came across the one he wanted. As he read, a frown began to crease his face, growing deeper with every sentence. 

Subject: Yazoo...attributes of Sephiroth's allure...able to manipulate others...areas of brain controlling emotion...very low activity...

He snapped the file shut. He had always been like this? No! Shinra...Shinra had...

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to bring up the childhood he'd never really had. Funny, how he'd never actually given it this much thought before. Their upbringing had always just been something they knew and tried to forget. He put himself into his younger body, bring his hand up, and see the little fist wave around. Looking around brought him a new image, a reflection in a mirror...one that wasn't quite his.

Yazoo's heart began beating hard and his breath became labored. With anger? Fear? 

What had Shinra given him?

He threw the file across the room and let the pages float down around him.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone looked up at the ceiling when they heard a loud thump from above them and more afterwards. It sounded like Yazoo was beating up the furniture.

"I'd better go up there," Loz said.

"Yeah." Yuffie jumped to her feet. "Let's go!" Tifa yanked her back down.

Yazoo had come home and gone straight upstairs, practically ordering Loz to leave him alone. That worried him because Yazoo hated to be alone-well, he hated for him and Loz to be parted, anyway, which seemed to be happening more and more lately. He climbed the stairs and slowly pushed open the door to their room. Yazoo stood in the middle of what remained of the bedroom set. Most of it had been shattered and thrown around and bits of paper stuck out of the wreckage. Loz bent to pick one up.

"Don't touch that," Yazoo said. His voice was toneless and his expression blank. Well, that wasn't good. 

Loz didn't know how to handle an emotional Yazoo. It wasn't like when a normal person got angry, or sad, or even happy. Yazoo's rare bouts of emotions were short and violent. Once, Yazoo had gotten happy over some trivial thing and set fire to an inn. Kadaj knew how to best steer him away from such things by talking him through it but Loz wasn't good at that. In fact, he was pretty sure he had said something which sparked the debacle, something he'd mentioned a few weeks before about how seeing a fire made him happy. 

So, no, Loz stayed out of the 'talking Yazoo down' part of the brotherly bonding. 

But now Yazoo was walking towards him, a hand outstretched. 

"What?"

Yazoo said nothing, merely touched a hand to his face and peered at him solemnly. 

"What is it?"

"We're real."

"Last I checked, yeah."

Yazoo sighed and stepped back. He looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time then began to gather the papers up. "Where's Cloud?" His voice had gained a bit of life, though it still had that vacant air to it, and Loz relaxed.

"The church. He and the kids are in the garden."

"I need your bike."

+

Cloud dug his hands into the earth. It felt good to work with his hands. He and the kids were planting new flowers. They'd bought some really nice ones from a vendor and just had to replant them. He was bent over his task, in his own little world, when a pair of black boots came into view. Yazoo stood in front of him, holding a thick folder.

"Yazoo? What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I borrowed Loz's bike."

"Oh. Okay. Uh...did you need something?"

Cloud shifted uncomfortably as Yazoo gazed down at him. It was a steady, assessing look, and it made him feel as if he were under a microscope. Finally, Yazoo knelt in front of him. He stared down at the file in his hands, his expression forlorn. If Cloud didn't know any better, he'd say he was sad. 

"I found something," he whispered. 

"What?" He whispered as well, as if Yazoo's hushed tone were contagious. 

Yazoo raised his head and gazed at all the kids gathered around the flowerbeds. "You loved her," he said.

Cloud blinked. "Huh?" He could've smacked himself. Here Yazoo was, trying to have a serious conversation with him-finally-and all he could say was 'huh?'. Way to go, Cloud. Real intelligent.

"Aeris. You loved her."

"Yeah...she had a beautiful soul. Look, not to be rude, but where are you going with this?"

"If you found a way to bring her back, would you do it? Even if it cost a life?"

"Ahh...so that's where this is going..." Cloud sighed. "Aeris would never want that. She valued life above all else. To bring her back at an innocent person's expense...She wouldn't want that."

Once again, Yazoo's gaze swung back to him and Cloud felt pity. He looked like a lost child. Had he always looked like that and Cloud just never noticed? Or was it only just now?

"An innocent..." Yazoo laid the file on the ground. After a moment's silence, he pushed it towards Cloud. "Loz shouldn't see this."

"Alright." He reached out to open it but stopped when he saw Yazoo flinch. He withdrew his hand. This moment was too rare and too intimate to break now. "Did you love Jenova?"

Yazoo shrugged. "I don't know. Kadaj did. Loz...I don't know."

"Then why follow her orders? Was it just for Kadaj's sake?"

"She promised..."

Cloud waited patiently. Yazoo seemed to be struggling, his eyebrows drawn, lips pursed. Was it that he couldn't find the words or that he was deciding whether or not to tell Cloud? Finally, he spoke.

"She promised us three things."

"What?"

Yazoo gazed blankly ahead and Cloud wasn't even sure he saw him. "She promised Kadaj she would love him." There was a pause. Yazoo's voice was getting softer. "She promised Loz that it would be okay...for him to love..."

"And you?" Cloud whispered, spellbound. "What did she promise you, Yazoo?"

"That I could love."

Cloud stared at him. The vagueness, the uncaring mask he normally wore, seemed to be breaking and Yazoo crumpled forward, pressing his forehead against the dirt.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment-brief as it had been-was broken by the loud cries of two kids arguing. Yazoo jerked upright and stared over at them. Cloud squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and went to break up the fight. By the time he returned, Yazoo had gone back to being a cool, blank-faced cipher. Cloud handed him one of the plants and the next hour was spent quietly gardening. 

The file was now hidden away in one of the compartments on Cloud's bike. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to read it. It would be like intruding on something intimate. Once back home, Yazoo glided upstairs. Loz gave him a puzzled look and followed.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked.

Cloud shook his head. "He just needed to talk." He turned and pulled her close, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you, you know."

Tifa grinned. "Of course you do." The grin faded and she added softly, "I love you, too."

+

Cloud was right. Aeris had been a kind, good person, the type who wanted to save the world. But they-he, Loz, and Kadaj-were not. They were destroyers by nature and had never been 'innocents'. If Kadaj knew what Yazoo suspected, that the lifestream would need a body to create a new one-he would have asked what was taking so long.

It was Sephiroth's will which had made them-but his body, having been absorbed by the lifestream, made them physical. Perhaps that was why only Loz was given a bigger form. After all, how much could the material from one body be spread among three? 

Of course, there was the possibility that he was wrong and will alone might be enough. 

There were too many theories running through Yazoo's head and the fact that Loz kept badgering him with questions did not help. When his brother began to get teary eyed over Yazoo's refusal to answer, he finally snapped, "Don't cry, Loz." Now was not the time. "Let's just...go to sleep."

Wiping his eyes, Loz nodded. It was later that night, when Loz's breathing had evened out into deep sleep, that Yazoo finally slipped from bed. He dressed silently in his black clothes, pulled Crimson Cascade from where it was hidden, and filched the keys to Jormangand. 

He'd have to work quickly. Once they realized he was gone, there would be violence. He could only hope that Loz stayed out of it. But it was a pale hope. They were brothers. Of course he'd be involved.

With one last glance at the sleeping figure, Yazoo slipped out the door.

+

"Three days! He's only been out three days!"

"Cloud, calm down."

"Tifa, what am I going to tell the hospital? Oops, sorry I lost your inmate?"

Yuffie choked back laughter.

Cloud sighed. "I thought he was trying."

Tifa turned to Loz. "Any idea where he would go?"

Loz looked thoughtful. "Um...Vigrid?"

"Loz...that's not...never mind," Cloud said. 

"What do you want to do?" Tifa asked.

Cloud looked at them. Everybody was waiting.

+

Loz had watched as the whole of avalanche spread over the city-Cid even had the Sierra flying overhead. Cloud was heading for the Sleeping Forest, Tifa was going to stand watch at Aeris's church, Vincent was sent to the Northern Crater, and Barret and the others were just searching the city pretty much at random, hoping to run across him. But Loz thought he knew where he'd wind up eventually.

He only had to get there.

Normally, he wouldn't approve of stealing-not lately, anyway-but these were desperate times and the only other vehicle, besides Fenrir, was Tifa's old truck, sitting in the alley behind Seventh Heaven. He hot-wired the engine and took off, a cloud of smoke trailing behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Yazoo sped down the abandoned highway. The sun was slowly rising, morning turning into mid-day but no matter the time, no one else would be traveling down this road-with the possible exception of outlaws and bandits. 

His body was tense. He could feel a yearning, a hum running through his body. It was as if Kadaj, never one for patience, were urging him onward.

By the time he finally reached his destination, it was getting dark, and the Northern Crater lay before him in a thick curtain of mist. He couldn't see what lay beyond the drop at his feet but he knew it was steep and uneven, full of jagged rock and an uneven landscape. He couldn't possibly climb down there on his own.

He'd have to make the plunge on Jormangand's back. So he backed up, hopped back on, and started it back up, then sped forward, shooting over the edge, and clinging to the bike as he sailed into the darkness. The first jolt nearly sent him flying and he bit his tongue, drawing blood. Pain was easily ignored, though, especially in the face of impending death. He was careening through the crater, out of control, barely able to steer, when the bike finally flipped. Much like in the tunnel fight with Cloud, he hung on, maneuvering it the best he could until he could get it turned right side up. Even with all his skill, he was no match for this rough terrain, especially not at this speed.

The wheel caught on some debris and this time sent Yazoo flying. He landed spread-eagled on his back, the breath knocked out of him, and he had to fight for consciousness. 

'Yazoo...'

He blinked, trying to rid his vision of the spots dancing in front of his eyes.

'Yazoo...get up...'

He sat up quickly, wincing at the pain that lanced through his body. But that wasn't important now.

"Kadaj?" He stood and looked around.

The hum in his body increased, damping the pain, and power coursed through him.

'Reunion...must have reunion...'

The tension increased and he could feel the earth around him shaking. This was what Kadaj had felt. "Wait." 

'Such a good son...'

"No!" He'd come to the wrong place!

And then, faintly-'Brother...'

The sudden presence of another ended the connection with a snap and, pulling Crimson Cascade smoothly from its holster, Yazoo turned to meet the newcomer-only to find another gun pointed directly at his face. Yazoo's own was pointed mere inches from the man's face, so he had time to look him over as they both slowly backed away from each other, guns still raised.

The man looked...odd. Even Yazoo could see that and he-outside the world of black leather, that is-would never be called a fashion plate. Loz had said so. And Kadaj. 

The man in front of him was tall, dark-haired, and pale, with red eyes. He was dressed all in red and wore a red...bandanna...thing...on his head.

"What you seek isn't here." His voice was a bit like Yazoo's-soft, distant.

He smirked. "How would you know what I seek?" 

"Shinra took the only bit that remained of your mother. And that is gone now."

Yazoo sighed, then lowered his gun. "I'm not looking for Jenova." Why did everyone assume he would want to? Oh. Right. "It's the truth."

The man stared at him a moment before lowering his own gun. "I'm Vincent."

"Ya-"

"I know who you are. Cloud sent me to find you."

"I can't go back. Not yet." He continued quickly as Vincent began to raise his gun. "Hasn't there been anyone you...cared for...loved perhaps? And lost."

The gun lowered again, slowly, while Vincent looked at him silently. Yazoo couldn't even begin to guess what emotions, if any, were playing on his face, and didn't bother trying.

"Wouldn't you do anything to have them back?" Yazoo stepped towards him. "I need to find my brother. Kadaj-but not here. He's not here." His chest seemed to tighten at the last words but he ignored it. 

Silence.

"I promise that no innocent people will be hurt. I just want my brother."

Vincent dropped a hand to the edge of his long cape. "Where do you need to go?"

+

Cid's voice came over the phone all staticky. "...hear me? We...found...bastard...where...crazy-ass broth...ied...go down...wai-"

"No," Cloud yelled into the phone. "Stay in the air. Can you hear me? Don't go down. I'll handle it." 

He had been parked in the Sleeping Forest for the past couple of hours but he was pretty sure this was a dead end. So it was back on the road, out to save humanity. Again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, angry villagers, grab those pitchforks and follow me...

Cloud nearly swerved off the road when a red blur appeared in front of him. As it was, he was left cussing on the shoulder of it, glad he hadn't overturned the bike and killed himself. He glared at Vincent as he strolled over, so nonchalant for someone who had almost killed him.

"What the hell's the matter with you?"

"I found him."

"What? Where?"

"The Sleeping Forest."

Cloud made to start his bike back up but stopped when Vincent briefly lay a hand on his arm. 

"He's no longer there."

Cloud sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "I think I know where he's at."

Vincent stared at him silently.

"I kinda got a call from Cid. It was full of static but it looks like he's gone to the spot where Kadaj died."

"Yes."

Now it was Cloud's turn to stare. Was Vincent psychic? "I should go."

Vincent nodded and was gone.

Cloud started Fenrir up and turned around. He was already near. He just wished he could get there in time to stop whatever it was Yazoo was planning. 

xxxxxxxxxx

The place where Kadaj had died-where they all should have died-was completely destroyed. There was only a pit left. He, Loz, and Big Brother had been pulled from that debris and, seeing it now, it seemed like something that would have been impossible if he didn't already know it to be true.

Earlier, Vincent had wrapped his cloak around him and flitted away, dropping him off here and leaving. Yazoo was sure he was going to report back to Cloud. He let out another soft sigh. Big Brother always made things so much more difficult than they needed to be.

He closed his eyes, his silver hair blowing across his face, and concentrated. 

'Kadaj? Can you hear me?'

He could hear it again, that whispering. He titled his head, listening, waiting. He could be patient-to a point.

'Come back. Come back, Kadaj.'

That whispering increased. A small emotion bloomed in his chest and died away, much like the voice, which he could tell was his younger brother's. This was no trick, no lie. But he wasn't strong enough to simply bring him back through will alone. More would be needed.

He stepped forward and looked down. It was a long, dark fall. The moonlight illuminated the upper of the pit, enough for him to see the ragged edges of the destroyed building.

But...if he fell...if he brought Kadaj back that way...he would still be alone. And Kadaj and Loz would both be so far from him. Another way...another way...

He knew!

"Yazoo!"

Yazoo smiled slightly and turned to face Loz, his back to the drop-off.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Everyone's been looking for you." He sniffed, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "You shouldn't worry people like that."

"Don't cry, Loz."

"I'm not crying! Hey-don't change the subject! What are you doing out here?"

"Bringing Reunion to a close."

Loz's mouth dropped open. "Wha...but-"

"Isn't that what everyone thinks? Well, they're close...but not quite."

"But you said..."

Yazoo held a finger up and Loz fell silent. He continued in a softer voice. "Loz. When it comes time for you to join us...we'll be so glad. But don't feel you have to hurry. We'll have all the time to play."

Loz's eyes narrowed, just now registering where, exactly, Yazoo was standing, and how far apart they were. He stepped forward. 

Yazoo watched him with a blank face. "Tell Cloud...tell Cloud...to enjoy his Reunion." And with a slight push off of the knees, he leapt back into the darkness. 

"NO!" Loz ran after him. Yazoo had never been strong. His body wasn't meant to survive a fall like that. Without even slowing, Loz leapt over the edge.

+

Yazoo had time to reflect as he fell. Not that he had too much to reflect on. But, even so, it was a long way down. Reflections of things past, at this stage, in this final end, was pointless. So he waited.

His hair ran like a streamer above him and he could see small pinpricks of light from an aircraft above. And a moment later, Loz. It looked like his brother was trying to save him one last time. It was far too late for that.

His arm drifted into his line of sight-

Sephiroth splintered-

-bodies of thought-

-"What did she promise you?"-

His hand was glowing with a faint blue light. Just like Kadaj's had.

His will-

-shinentai-

-Jenova-

-mother-

It looked as if Loz was getting closer. Yazoo smiled, though he knew Loz couldn't see him. He felt it-love-even if it was ever elusive and slipping away.

His will-

'What are you doing? Stop that.'

His will-

'Stop! I'm not supposed to-'

"...is my will."

As the light began to wash the world out in tones of blue, Yazoo felt Loz grasp his hand. Everything, it seemed, was shutting down.

One last mercy, then, he thought.

And heard one last thing before drifting away.

'Don't worry, kid. We've got you covered.'

+

Tifa knelt in the church, gathering up little flowers. She'd bring some home later on. A light at the corner of her eye made her turn and she stared wide-eyed at the blue maelstrom coalescing in front of her. Inside the light, a shape began to form, a female shape, and when it faded, she stood before Tifa.

Her.

Aeris.

She held up her hands and stared at them in wonder. She looked at Tifa, tears in her eyes. 

"That boy..." she sighed.

+

Cloud had seen the outlines of the two men falling and raced to where he knew they would eventually land. They'd be all right. They were like mini Sephiroth's, right? Incredibly strong and hard to kill. But what was that light...? Whatever it was soon faded and he arrived just in time for Loz to hit the ground. 

He landed on his hands and knees, actually causing a small crater to appear beneath him. And he was crying.

Cloud looked up at the sky and waited for the second body to land. He was still waiting when the sun came up.

+

When they arrived back at Seventh Heaven, a couple of people were gathered outside. Loz rode with Cloud, as Jormangand was gone. They'd go back for the truck later.

Tifa's eyes flicked over them and, realizing who was missing, covered her face with her hands and went to Cloud. He took her in his arms but his eyes were glued to the woman who stood in the doorway. Now there was a face he didn't think he'd see again.

"Aeris?"

Loz gasped. So that's what he'd meant. 

"Hello, Cloud." She smiled tentatively. 

With Tifa beside him, he walked to the door. He could hear the sound of laughter and celebration inside. No doubt they were celebrating Aeris return. A miracle event. But somehow it just felt hollow.

+

Loz was ready to go. He'd pulled Tifa's truck-Bob, he liked to call it-to the driveway and was putting his few possessions inside when Cloud and Tifa came out to say goodbye. Tifa handed him a backpack which she'd filled with food, stuff that could stay fresh for a while, and she'd secretly stashed some money inside. 

"Bye, Loz," she said, giving him a hug, "be careful. Come visit."

Cloud shifted awkwardly. "Any idea where you're going yet?"

Loz stared at the stretch of road ahead of him. "No. But there's plenty of time to find out."

"Give me a call when you can."

Tifa snorted then tried to look properly sober as Cloud glared at her. "You'd better call Seventh Heaven first." She was sure it was moping time for Cloud.

"Yeah. Okay." He hesitated a moment, reluctant to leave, but turned and opened the truck door. He set the backpack on the passenger seat. He was off to see the world.As Loz pulled into the street, Tifa wrapped an arm around Cloud's waist and watched him drive away. "He really got that thing running, didn't he?"

"Yeah..."

+

Many years later, Loz found himself standing in a haze of white light.

"Where am I?"

He glanced down at himself. He was young! And healthy. His body was that of the young man he used to be, before Kadaj's death.

"About time." And speaking of Kadaj-

His youngest brother stood before him, a hand on his hip, the familiar frown on his face.

"Kadaj?"

"We've been waiting. Yazoo said you'd get here but you're too slow."

"Oh. Uh..."

"I did say he'd get here." To his left stood Yazoo. He and Kadaj were looking at Loz severely.

They burst out laughing. Loz stared at the two of them. Kadaj seemed so carefree. And Yazoo's smile was genuine, not the pale imitation he used to have. Still laughing, Kadaj turned and ran, fading away.

Yazoo reached out and pushed against Loz's shoulder. "Tag. You're it." Now it was Yazoo's turn to run away. 

Loz grinned and ran after. It was time to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading it again after all these years, I know why the ending embarrasses me. It makes no sense! Ah, well. I enjoyed writing it at the time and it was one of my very early works.


End file.
